Hundreds of protesters, many masked, gathered on the outskirts of Belfast on Wednesday, leading to clashes with police.
Hundreds of protesters, many masked, gathered on the outskirts of Belfast on Wednesday, leading to clashes with police. The suspect has been charged with attempted murder and will face court on Thursday.
Northern Ireland police appealed for calm Wednesday after a stabbing in Belfast allegedly by a Sudanese suspect and captured in a graphic video prompted calls for anti-immigration protests from UK far-right figures. The suspect, whose name has not been released, was charged Wednesday with attempted murder, possession of a bladed weapon in a public place and making threats to kill. The 30-year-old man is due to appear in court on Thursday.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland vowed to increase its presence on the British province's streets after footage shared online of Monday night's incident drew shock, condemnation and demands for immediate demonstrations. Hundreds of protesters, many with masked faces, gathered on the outskirts of Belfast on Wednesday, while police helicopters patrolled above the city and shops closed early. Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you.
Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox. Tensions have already been heightened in Britain following violent skirmishes last week in Southampton, southern England, over the police handling of the murder of a young white student stabbed to death by a British Sikh man. On Wednesday, dozens of demonstrators also gathered there outside a hotel housing asylum seekers, carrying reading "no racism, just patriotism", "enough is enough".
The video from Belfast shows a man straddling another man lying in a street and slashing him several times in the head and neck with a knife, in what far-right figures claimed was an attempted beheading. Several people can then be seen intervening, one wielding a hurling stick, and tackling the perpetrator as police arrive. Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said the force had "no information to suggest that this was a terrorist-related incident".
The victim, a man in his 40s, "was taken to hospital with significant injuries to his eyes and serious slash wound injuries to his back and face," he told reporters. A 31-year-old mother-of-one who lives nearby said the incident had terrified the neighbourhood.
"We're just living in fear now," she told AFP. The leaders of Northern Ireland's five main political parties issued a joint statement condemning the incident, saying "there is no place in our society for this kind of brutality". The leaders and police urged people not to share the video, noting its "graphic nature would only serve to re-traumatise those involved".
But numerous social media accounts linked to so-called "patriots" were sharing the footage, urging people to "protest against mass immigration into their communities". US tech billionaire Elon Musk retweeted a post by anti-immigration activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon — also known as Tommy Robinson — adding: "Only by protesting REPEATEDLY and LOUDLY will there be any change!!
". "Our officers have a role to facilitate and accommodate peaceful protest," he said, while cautioning against a repeat racially-motivated riots last June. That followed two Romanian teenagers being charged with the alleged attempted rape of a schoolgirl in Ballymena, northwest of Belfast. The charges were later dropped "on evidential grounds".
The UK interior ministry confirmed the Sudanese suspect entered the country in 2023 and acquired refugee status the same year, allowing him to remain until 2028. PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher told reporters the man had first travelled from Sudan to the French capital Paris, before flying to Dublin and then taking a bus to Belfast.
"There is no trace of this suspect on any of our national security databases, and he was not known to the Police Service of Northern Ireland," he said. Northern Irish MP Gavin Robinson, from the pro-UK Democratic Unionist Party , said in parliament the incident "will have profound implications for community cohesion in this country". Immigration has become a hot-button issue in Britain, and helped fuel the rise of the hard-right Reform UK party in the polls.
Some social media accounts posted numerous Northern Irish locations where protests were planned late Tuesday, noting businesses had been urged to close from 5.30pm . Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.
Please follow us on Google to support us Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Man seriously injured in Belfast stabbing Starmer describes as ‘sickening’Prime minister says he has no tolerance for such attacks after man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder
Read more »
UK police arrest man over 'barbaric' knife attack in BelfastPolice say a Sudanese man in his 30s has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a 'brutal' knife attack in Belfast.
Read more »
Belfast police arrest man after ‘brutal attempted beheading’A Sudanese man is in custody on suspicion of attempted murder after a stabbing attack left a man fighting for his life, setting off a political storm over crime and migration.
Read more »
Sudanese suspect arrested over brutal stabbing attack in BelfastA Sudanese suspect has been arrested over a brutal stabbing attack in Belfast that has left a man fighting for his life in hospital. The attack, described as an attempted beheading, has sparked a political storm over crime and migration. Conservative politicians are calling for the police to reveal the ethnicity of the suspect and the details of the injuries to the victim, who is in his 40s.
Read more »